1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a diagnostic method for application to a female breast. It makes possible a determination of a position of an object within the breast by evaluation of three-dimensional images of the breast, as produced for example by a CT scanner.
2. Description of Related Art
Various instruments such as X-ray machines or also computed tomography (CT) scanners are known for examining a female breast. A CT scanner of this kind is described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0094950, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,697,660. An X-ray facility with a rotating gantry which has an X-ray tube and a detector is located below a patient table on which a patient to be examined rests. A breast of the patient to be examined projects through an opening in the patient table and into a ray path of the X-ray facility. In order to create constant conditions during an examination, the breast to be examined is pushed upwards with a pushing implement and put into a predefined cylinder-like shape. An adaptation to various breast sizes is possible by shifting the implement. Another device for stabilizing a breast of a patient is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,188. A cup of rubber-like fabric is positioned to cover a breast, and is then drawn away from the patient by means of a cord. The diameter of the breast is thereby compressed and the breast is elongated. By means of vacuum fixation systems as disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 1864611, a breast is drawn into a bowl-shaped vessel by sub-pressure.
With the disclosed different devices for locating in the sense of fixing or positioning a breast, the breast is in each case put into a different shape. Furthermore, the shape of the breast in the fixing means can differ from one application to the next. It is almost impossible to determine the location of a particular object within the breast because the object is urged into a different position according to the device and the shaping in each particular case.